Strati, who has earlier set seven Guinness World Records for the world’s largest mosaics using industrial materials, has chosen his hometown of Fier, southwestern Albania, to create his “Forbidden Fruit” mosaic which he has named “Adam’s Apple”.
TIRANA, July 9 – Albanian artist Saimir Strati is seeking to set a new Guinness World Record by creating the world’s largest mosaic using drinking straws.
Strati, who has earlier set seven Guinness World Records for the world’s largest mosaics using industrial materials, has chosen his hometown of Fier, southwestern Albania, to create his “Forbidden Fruit” mosaic which he has named “Adam’s Apple” because of the folk tale that the bulge was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in the throat of Adam.
“I have chosen to create “Adam’s Apple” with recyclable material, plastic drinking straws. The goal is not only setting a Guinness record but also conveying a clear message on the importance of environment protection,” said Strati.
The artist will use some 150,000 drinking straws in his 30m2 mosaic which he is creating in a public garden in the Fier city centre.
Strati says he will have to work 16 hours a day to complete the mosaic in 20 days when a Guinness team will come to assess the work.
“The image is a symbol of sin such as the bitten apple where the whole globe with its beauties and peculiarities will be drawn,” says Strati.
In 2012, Saimir Strati set his seventh Guinness World Record for the largest mosaic using bean grains created in Kosovo’s capital, Prishtina.
Strati, who had already won seven Guinness World Records since 2006 for other mosaic artworks, created the mosaic in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Independence of Albania by putting together approximately 1,350,000 bean grains into a 65-square-meter artwork for which he was awarded his seventh Guinness World Record on November 26.
In late 2011, Albania’s Saimir Strati set his sixth personal Guinness World Record for the world’s largest mosaic, using around a million coffee beans, depicting five musicians.
Strati’s Guinness journey started in September 2006 when he created the largest metal nail mosaic. The 8m2 (86.11 sq. feet) mosaic featured a portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci. Two years later, he entered the Guinness World Record for the largest cork mosaic is 91.87 mҠ(988 ftҩ with the theme ‘Mediterranea.’ In September 2009 he created the largest paint brush mosaic measuring 26 mҠdepicting pop star Michael Jackson.
In November 2010, he set a new world record when he made the largest screw artwork contained 235,500 metal screws in an artwork depicting the poet Homer on a banknote.
Born in Vlora, Saimir Strati, 45, is an Albanian artist who is regarded as one of the world’s most well known modern mosaic artists.
Saimir Strati is primarily an artist who works in mosaics. He has used materials including nails, toothpicks, corks, sea glass, eggshells, compact discs, coffee beans, porcelain and mirror glass among other materials. He is also a painter.
